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The pain of airport taxi queues & how to eliminate it

Airport operators invest bucket-loads of money to ensure their passenger experience is as stress-free as possible - and yet, there are always gaps in the process that need attention.

Picture the following scene. You’ve just stepped off your flight and like most travellers, you’re tired and agitated. If you were lucky enough to have passed through an efficient airport, your customs and baggage reclaim was quick and painless, and as you walk towards the exit, the feeling of relief passes over you - you’re nearly home!

But as you step out into the fresh air in search of a taxi, you are confronted with what seems like the world’s longest taxi queue. Your feeling of relief is suddenly replaced with frustration and anger – and this is the last contact you’ll have with the airport.

Taxi queues: A common problem for airports

Sadly, this is a standard scenario for passengers. But it shouldn’t be. Airport operators and stakeholders are continually looking for solutions to improve their operational efficiency both landside and airside with the hope of improving the passenger experience.

These improvements shouldn’t stop at the terminal exit. Passenger experience starts at home and ends at the destination, so ensuring that all aspects of your airport operations are managed well is vital for return traffic.

The solution: Providing real-time information on taxi wait times

Airports can eliminate this inconvenience for the passenger by displaying real-time information on the taxi wait time. This has considerable benefits not only for the passenger but also for the operator since airports can use the data collected as a real-time tactical management tool to reduce bottlenecks and provide early warning signs to their taxi operators. As a result, taxi lines can be load balanced across multiple locations and terminals.

Implementing simple wait time measurement solutions is one of the key areas of focus for airports. Why? Because passenger experience is one of the most important aspects of airport operations. Passengers are at the heart of everything you do on a daily basis so ensuring that all of their needs are met is vital. It is also one of the simplest ways to guarantee continued growth for both passengers and route development.

How exactly do you measure queues and passenger processes?

As covered in Mashable New York's busiest airport, JFK, is utilizing mobile device tracking to display wait times across key airport processing points - including their indoor taxi queue.

If you would like to find out more about the different technologies that airports have embraced to achieve service excellence or for more aviation technology adoption best practices, download our white paper, penned by our global airport experts.